Original tasks of slaves Slaves in Rome were often killed for entertainment, but ironically that’s not where this specific problem lies. Rome had many slaves, and although a lot of them died in entertainment, a lot of them worked and stole jobs from Romans. They worked on farms and in building, and tutored. It was cheaper for Roman landowners to use slaves in farms and other businesses than it was to hire and pay people. So many Romans were out of jobs because their jobs had been taken by landowners who either couldn’t afford to keep paying people to work for them, or wanted to save an extra buck.
Facts:
Slaves did jobs that required little ability- jobs that landowners would be okay with if the person doing the job wasn't really qualified. So Roman citizens that could do the jobs couldn’t do them anymore.
Roman employers didn’t have enough money to pay who was working for them.
Rome’s economy was based mainly on trade and agriculture, as we learned in the “a vast and powerful empire” reading. So when slaves were working on the farms and there was no one being paid to work in agriculture, the economy ultimately began to crumble.
With so many Romans victim to unemployment, a lot of Plebeians were depending on government handouts. The government couldn’t afford to feed that many citizens.
As a result of slaves taking Roman jobs, urban decay took place. Many Romans that had professions before were then living in dire poverty, homeless. The city got dirtier due to all of the homeless Romans living on the streets.
The dependency Rome had on slaves doing most tasks resulted in goods and technology not being produced as efficiently.
Slavery was a very vital thing in Roman culture, so it would not be easy to just get rid of slavery to fix the job crisis in Rome, as it would lead to unhappy landowners, and people confused about their culture. The might ask “If the government is soft now... what can they do for me?” And revolts could potentially start. The government would also have to assign roles to the freed slaves. Ending slavery could not be an option in Rome at this point in time.
The issues of unemployment because of slave workers had a large effect on the social class system between the patricians and the plebeians, that was a main foundation of society. The void between the two social classes was huge already, but with every unemployed citizen, the void grew, and plebeians were really realizing how great of a distance there was between them and the ones who had all the money.
The slaves ended up rebelling because of all the work they had to do for free- especially when able citizens could do it for money. There were 3 servile wars, one of which was led by the slave Spartacus.
Anywhere from 25 to 40% of the city of Rome’s population were slaves during this point in time, so it wasn’t too hard to find a free worker for your big plantation if you were a landowner.
Slaves from barbaric tribes were often the slaves that would be farming because they were thought to be strong. Slaves from Greece were often educators.
As more and more people in Rome were without jobs, many became slaves because they couldn’t pay their debts, which only worsened the problem, because that put more slaves on the market.
Many slaves worked on Roman plantations. The numbers varied depending on how large the farm was.
People that were enslaved because of debt could pay of their debt in time, but were paid very, very cheaply.
Roman slaves were often collected from areas that Rome conquered.
Slaves were people that had their freedom taken away, either by their homeland being conquered or being great debt. They had to work for free (unless they were debt slaves) and were treated in a variety of manners, depending on their master's liking.
Servile Wars
There were three major revolts during the servile wars.
The first revolt was led by Eunus, a slave himself who was thought to be a magician, from 135 to 132 BC.
Salvius and Athenion were the two slaves that led the second rebellion that lasted from 104 to 100 BC.
The final major revolt was led by Spartacus from 73 to 71 BC. Spartacus was a gladiator.
The Roman government was reportedly unfit to handle the rebellions at the time. According to some, Spartacus defeated nine armies before he was defeated by Crassus.
Current Problems/ Solutions
Jobs in the US are currently being lost to China. As many Americans suffer from unemployment, jobs that could be done in the US are outsourced to China. The Chinese do a lot of building of household items, and most things you get in America will have a sticker that says “Made in China”. A possible solution to this would be to encourage Americans to buy products made in America, so that new jobs can be made as less people depend on Chinese goods. Although it would have a bad outcome to completely stop trade with China, possibly importing less goods from China could help solve the problem.
Illegal immigrants in America take jobs from either unknowing employers or employers who don’t care they are breaking the law. It is illegal to hire someone who has gotten to the US by illegal means. People that are hired in America but aren’t really citizens take jobs from actual, tax-paying Americans. A possible way to fix this problem is to make laws about how employers hire people. They would have to background check the people working for them (which many employers do already), make sure they are real citizens of the US, and prove it to government officials.
American jobs are being lost to India, with all the industry there, and American jobs. The importing from India is at an abundance, and Americans are depending on it. A solution could be the same as in the problem with Chinese outsourcing jobs. Importing less goods from India could be a good idea.
As technology advances, it’s harder to find jobs that aren’t robot operated. Many jobs in America have been outsourced by machines- machines that assemble other machines, robots that do a lot of computation, and even medical machines take jobs from Americans. A possible solution to this problem could be to propose a law where for every building machine, there should be four people to operate it. (This would not apply for the case of a single computer, as only one person can fit at one computer. But for a computer system with multiple screens and purposes, having multiple people would be a good idea).
America’s dependence on foreign oil is a problem that can result in less jobs. Not exactly the same situation we’ve been talking about- no one is taking the jobs per say, but jobs that could be done in the United States are done in other parts of the world. This is a problem that has been present in the US for a while, but since the big fracking bang, foreign oil doesn’t seem as big of a problem. Still, a way this problem could be fixed is to create more jobs in the oil industry in America by showing the big American oil companies that there is a lot of oil they can dig from, and encourage people to buy the American oil instead of oil from Iraq or Iran.
Solutions To Rome’s Problems Brainstorm
A possible way Rome could have solved the outsourcing problem might have been to create a law to put on the twelve tables that controlled slave population- maybe you can’t have more than five slaves on a farm. Because that’s not nearly enough to run a plantation, landowners would have to higher citizens.
Lowering the cost of education could help this problem. By lowering the cost of education, more Plebeians are able to attend school and become more skilled. Because slaves did mostly menial type labors (not including the tutors), Plebeians wouldn’t be competing with slaves for work because they are skilled in areas no one would hire a slave in.
Questions
Was there any limit on how many slaves a person could have- maybe a limit on how many they could have on a farm or in a business?
Plebeians often were skilled in a certain trade they were taught. Who exactly taught them these trades?
How did the Roman government try to help the job crisis?
Small family farms were taken over from Plebeians that were refused work after the new owner began a plantation on the old farm. How did Romans that wanted to begin plantations do this?
Why does the US import so many goods from other countries when the manufacturing could be done in America?
There are many materials the US has to get from other countries. Would there be less of a problem with offshoring if the materials were shipped to America where people in the US could make the items, or would that only create a trading problem?
Are there currently any regulations the government must follow about offshoring? (Are there certain jobs that must be done in America, or a certain percentage of jobs that must be done in America?)
Citations
"Slavery In Ancient Rome." Slavery In Ancient Rome. Rich East High School, n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2013.
I emailed Mr. Bagnall and he responded rather quickly. Here is what my email said: Dear Mr. Bagnall, Hello, I am Sarah, a seventh grade student at Nagel Middle School in Ohio. Our social studies class is doing a project on ancient Rome focusing on the problems they had. The problem I am researching is slaves taking Roman jobs; outsourcing. I know that you are a professor of ancient history, specializing in Roman and Greek history, at NYU. I was wondering if you could answer some questions I have about outsourcing in ancient Rome.
Plebeians were often skilled in a certain trade that they were taught, but they could not afford to go to school most of the time. Who taught Plebeians these skills?
In what ways did the Roman government try to help the job crisis?
Small family farms were often taken over from Plebeians, who then were not allowed to work on the farm that was taken from them. How exactly did Romans who wanted to begin a plantation take over these farms?
Were there any laws that tried to get Plebeians work, or give them a chance to work on their old farm?
Thank you very much for your time!Sincerely, Sarah C. He then replied: Dear Sarah,
I don't think "outsourcing" is a relevant concept in ancient Rome. But the place to start is to define what you mean by ancient Rome--the Republic or the Empire. "Plebeian" isn't really a meaningful concept under the Empire, and that's when most of our evidence comes from.
At the moment I am in Egypt and away from libraries, so I'm afraid I can't do more than that.
I also wrote to Elliot Morss for information about modern offshoring problems. He has yet to write back. Here's what I wrote to him:
Dear Mr. Morss, Hello, I am Sarah, a seventh grade student at Nagel Middle School. In my social studies class, we are doing a project where we identify and try to solve the problems of ancient Rome. The problem I am researching is slaves taking Roman jobs. I am trying to find out more about modern problems where jobs are taken from Americans- offshoring. I was wondering if you would be willing to answer the following questions:
There are many materials the US has to get from other countries. Would there be less of a problem with offshoring if the materials were shipped to America where people in the US could make the items, or would that only create trading problems?
Are there regulations the government must follow about offshoring? (Are there certain jobs that must be done in America or a certain percentage of what jobs the US needs done that must be done in America?)
Why does the US import so many goods from other countries that could be made in America in the first place?
Thank you very much for your time. Sincerely,
Sarah C.
Final Project: http://slavestakeromanjobs.weebly.com/index.html
Original tasks of slaves
Slaves in Rome were often killed for entertainment, but ironically that’s not where this specific problem lies. Rome had many slaves, and although a lot of them died in entertainment, a lot of them worked and stole jobs from Romans. They worked on farms and in building, and tutored. It was cheaper for Roman landowners to use slaves in farms and other businesses than it was to hire and pay people. So many Romans were out of jobs because their jobs had been taken by landowners who either couldn’t afford to keep paying people to work for them, or wanted to save an extra buck.
Facts:
Servile Wars
Current Problems/ Solutions
Solutions To Rome’s Problems Brainstorm
Questions
Citations
"Slavery In Ancient Rome." Slavery In Ancient Rome. Rich East High School, n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2013.
"Causes for the Fall of the Roman Empire." Causes for the Fall of the Roman Empire. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2013. <http://www.roman-colosseum.info/roman-empire/causes-for-the-fall-of-the-roman-empire.htm>.
"Roman Slavery." Roman Slavery. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2013. <http://www.unrv.com/culture/roman-slavery.php>.
Morss, Elliott R. "Elliott Morss." The Loss of American Manufaturing Jobs: What Are The Facts? N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2013.
"Slave Revolts or Servile Wars In Italy." About.com Ancient / Classical History. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2013. <http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/slavesandslavery/a/slavewars.htm>.
"Why Offshore Outsourcing,Why Offshore Outsourcing Useful,Why Need of Offshore Outsourcing Services." Why Offshore Outsourcing,Why Offshore Outsourcing Useful,Why Need of Offshore Outsourcing Services. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2013. <http://www.roseindia.net/services/outsourcing/why-offshore-outsourcing.shtml>.
EXPERTS:
I emailed Mr. Bagnall and he responded rather quickly. Here is what my email said:
Dear Mr. Bagnall,
Hello, I am Sarah, a seventh grade student at Nagel Middle School in Ohio. Our social studies class is doing a project on ancient Rome focusing on the problems they had. The problem I am researching is slaves taking Roman jobs; outsourcing. I know that you are a professor of ancient history, specializing in Roman and Greek history, at NYU. I was wondering if you could answer some questions I have about outsourcing in ancient Rome.
- Plebeians were often skilled in a certain trade that they were taught, but they could not afford to go to school most of the time. Who taught Plebeians these skills?
- In what ways did the Roman government try to help the job crisis?
- Small family farms were often taken over from Plebeians, who then were not allowed to work on the farm that was taken from them. How exactly did Romans who wanted to begin a plantation take over these farms?
- Were there any laws that tried to get Plebeians work, or give them a chance to work on their old farm?
Thank you very much for your time!Sincerely, Sarah C.He then replied:
Dear Sarah,
I don't think "outsourcing" is a relevant concept in ancient Rome. But the place to start is to define what you mean by ancient Rome--the Republic or the Empire. "Plebeian" isn't really a meaningful concept under the Empire, and that's when most of our evidence comes from.
At the moment I am in Egypt and away from libraries, so I'm afraid I can't do more than that.
I also wrote to Elliot Morss for information about modern offshoring problems. He has yet to write back. Here's what I wrote to him:
Dear Mr. Morss,
Hello, I am Sarah, a seventh grade student at Nagel Middle School. In my social studies class, we are doing a project where we identify and try to solve the problems of ancient Rome. The problem I am researching is slaves taking Roman jobs. I am trying to find out more about modern problems where jobs are taken from Americans- offshoring. I was wondering if you would be willing to answer the following questions:
- There are many materials the US has to get from other countries. Would there be less of a problem with offshoring if the materials were shipped to America where people in the US could make the items, or would that only create trading problems?
- Are there regulations the government must follow about offshoring? (Are there certain jobs that must be done in America or a certain percentage of what jobs the US needs done that must be done in America?)
- Why does the US import so many goods from other countries that could be made in America in the first place?
Thank you very much for your time.Sincerely,
Sarah C.